Outdoor living: Indoor style design and comfort don't stop at the back door
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Plush sectional for Lee Industries US102 Series. -
Lane Venture's Outdoor club chair and ottoman. -
Outdoor pillow. -
Outdoor pillow. -
Seasonal Living's ceramics and outdoor furniture creates a chic outdoor environment.
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HIGH POINT, N.C.
Dozing on the deck just got a lot more comfortable. No longer will the tell-tale marks of a quick nap on the nylon lounger give you away. The new breed of outdoor furniture looks and feels a lot more like that sofa you spent Saturday afternoons on all winter.
"Families are spending more time in their homes, and they want to make the outdoors an extension of that lifestyle," said Bondi Coley of Lee Industries.
The cozy comfort we are accustomed to enjoying inside has been translated nearly stitch for stitch into upholstery pieces for outdoor living.
• www.leeindustries.com -- available through the Antiquarian Shop; 412-741-1969
• www.karastan.com -- available at Macys
• www.seasonalliving.com -- available through Perlora; 412-431-2220
• www.cassina.com -- available through Weisshouse; 412-441-8888
• www.janusetcie.com -- available through Penhollows (design studio); 412-665-0767
• www.laneventure.com -- available at Tombstone Interiors; 412-343-7765
(check websites for more local retailers)
"They look good enough to use indoors. It's hard to believe they are 100 percent weatherproof," noted a retailer in the Lane Venture Showroom during the Spring International Home Furnishings Market in High Point. She was looking at the Weather Master Upholstery Collection, which comes in variety of Sunbrella fabrics and includes sofas, love seats, lounge chairs, ottomans and chaises in different profiles.
Lee and Lane Venture are two of several companies offering upholstered sectionals and many other pieces usually found inside the house. The use of Sunbrella fabrics, which are fade- and mildew-resistant and have been engineered to feel as soft as cotton, is just half the story.
"For our US102 series sectional, the frame is made of outdoor-grade sustainable plywood and assembled with weatherproof adhesive and stainless-steel staples and fasteners," said Ms. Coley.
The seat deck is designed to slope to the rear, where there is a built-in drain. The cushions are made of an open-weave fabric that lets them breathe and water drain.
A similar idea is used on Elaine Smith's outdoor pillows, which famously look like they are made for indoor use because of embellishments like feathery, fine fringe and embroidery.
"Design and style don't have to stop at the back door," noted the English designer.
First Published May 18, 2011 12:00 am
